DanMachi Light Novel Volume 4/Synopsis
Volume 4 Prologue Two days after Bell defeated the minotaur, at the Guild, Misha noted that there were more adventurers than usual, causing Eina to remind her that they were still working. She noted that it was probably because of the Denatus coming up and because of the incident on the 9th Floor. As they watched the adventurers, Misha spotted Bell. Noticing that he was in high spirits, Eina asked if something good had happened, to which he revealed that he became Level 2 three days earlier. Both Eina and Misha were shocked by his announcement, especially Eina who accidentally shouted the information. Chapter 1 Eina apologized for her outburst once they moved to an interview box. She asked for information to create an activity log but was shocked once again when she heard that he defeated a Minotaur by himself. After Eina congratulated him for leveling up, Bell discussed with her what Development Ability he should choose, ultimately deciding on Luck. Bell thanked her and left to inform Hestia of his decision. Once he returned, Bell informed Hestia of his decision, lying down to finish the rank up process. After finishing, she revealed that he gained a new skill called Argonaut, correcting herself when she almost said second. Bell was overjoyed at obtaining a skill until he realized that the name Argonaut came from his desire to become a hero, something that Hestia began laughing about. She apologized for laughing, telling him that she was heading off to the Denatus as she was invited since Bell ranked up. At the Denatus, Hestia, Hephaestus, Takemikazuchi, Hermes, Loki, Freya, Ishtar, Ganesha, Set, and several other Gods assembled to talk and decide on aliases. Set pleaded for a normal alias for Seti Selty but his pleas were rejected as Seti received the alias of Burning Fighting Fighter. Takemikazuchi also asked for the same though his pleas were rejected by the other Gods for being a "natural gigolo" and Yamato Mikoto was given the alias of Zetsu Ei. The Gods were surprised when they reached Bell's name, with Loki accusing Hestia of using illegal methods to raise his level. However, Freya came to her rescue by swaying all of the male Gods to her side, and with Freya's intervention, the Gods decided to give Bell a proper alias. While the other Gods debated on Bell's alias, Loki told Hestia to be wary of Freya because she had protected Bell. Hestia wasn't sure what she meant but still took her advice. As a thought came to her mind, the Gods decided on Little Rookie as Bell's alias. In the Guild office, Rehmer brought Eina's attention back to the matter at hand after she let it wander. He explained to her that Bell's activity log would be put in storage as it was basically telling adventurers to go die. He told her that he would make up an excuse to tell their superiors and advised her to not do anything rash. Rehmer turned his attention to Misha, informing her that the Gods complained about the adventurer information provided at the Denatus, ordering her to deal with it herself. He then dismissed both of them. Instead of leaving the office, Eina and Misha stopped at the corner to get some tea. Misha noted that everyone seemed to be tense and Eina added that it was almost time for the aliases from the Denatus to arrive. The aliases soon after, causing everyone to crowd around to see them. As Misha obtained a copy, Eina hoped that Bell didn't get an alias like Bloody Guy. Searching through the pages, she finally spotted Bell's alias on the last page, telling Misha that Bell was given the alias of Little Rookie. Chapter 2 Later that day, Bell laid on the sofa in the Hestia Familia home, reflecting on the events that happened the past few days. He remembered the drop item he received and took the Minotaur horn from his pocket. He wasn't sure if the inside was originally red or not, though he knew that he was finally able to get over his fear. Eventually, after looking at the time, Bell decided to head to the Hostess of Fertility to attend the celebration held in his honor. However, once he reached the Main Street, he was surrounded by a group of Gods that tried to have him join their Familia. The Gods repeatedly tried to convince him, and when they came to the topic of his status they tried to forcibly look at his status, causing him to run away from them. Bell eventually reached the Hostess of Fertility where he was greeted by Anya and Lunoire, both of which spoke to him before telling him to head to the table. Upon reaching their table, he noticed that Syr and Ryuu were also sitting with them, learning that Mia had the two join them. Ryuu asked Bell whether he had any party members other than the two of them to which he admitted that he didn't. She warned him that to go deeper in the dungeon he needed more party members. Bell thought about it but couldn't think of anyone that could join, as the only candidate, Naaza, had a trauma about the dungeon after almost dying. As Bell contemplated on what to do, a drunk Mord came over and told him that they would help him if Bell shared the girls that were with him, wondering how much Bell paid for them to be with him. Bell was disgusted at Mord and at his companions who were leering at Syr and Lili. Mord made a fatal mistake when he tried to place his hand on Ryuu's shoulder. Ryuu took Bell's mug, emptied it, covered Mord's hand with it, then twisted the glass and pushed him away from her. Anya and Chloe smashed chairs over the heads of Mord's Level 2 companions and knocked them out in one hit while complaining the men were a handful to deal with. Lunoire cautioned them while cleaning plates, telling them that as their Elf was vicious, they had better not fight with her. Enraged, Mord drew his weapon to attack Ryuu. However, Mia smashed a table to intimidate them, telling them to leave or else. Mord paid for their food and dragged his companions out of the Hostess of Fertility. The next day, Bell went to Babel to get a replacement for the Pyonkichi MK-II, as it had been destroyed during his fight with the Minotaur. This time money wasn't an issue since he had over 100,000 valis which included the 50,000 he received from the Minotaur's magic stone. He searched around the store for Welf Crozzo's armor, becoming slightly depressed when he couldn't find any, then heard two people arguing. Making his way to the counter, he saw Welf arguing with the shopkeeper over the placement of his armor. Another shopkeeper greeted him, and when he asked for Welf's armor, all three people around him suddenly became silent and stared at him. Immediately, Welf was overjoyed, telling the shopkeepers that even he had customers before taking Bell out of the store along with his armor. In the rest area on the 8th floor, Welf properly introduced himself and asked if Bell would be interested in a personal contract to have him as his personal smith. Bell accepted and Welf joined their party. Chapter 3 A day later, the party headed to the 11th Floor of the dungeon for the first time. Welf's motive for joining was to obtain the Blacksmith Development Ability that would also be useful to Bell as he was his customer. Normally he would've gone with his other Hephaestus Familia members to explore the dungeon, but for some reason they refused to go with him, forcing him to gain help from a different Familia. Lili wasn't happy about Welf joining their party, claiming that Bell was bribed, yet became interested when she found out that Welf's surname was Crozzo. She began explaining who the Crozzo were but he changed the topic while he readied his weapon to fight. The party fought against a group of Imps, Orcs, a Hard Armored, and two Silverbacks before taking a break. Bell and Welf rested as Lili moved to collect magic stones. Bell thought about his Skill Argonaut, wondering why and how he obtained it. Suddenly, a roar sounded throughout the floor, and several adventurers shouted that an Infant Dragon had appeared. Adventurers all around them ran away with the Infant Dragon setting its sights on Lili. Welf shouted to her, however, Bell moved to support her, using an Argonaut charged Firebolt to defeat the monster in one hit. The adventurers all stopped to stare at Bell though he was the one who was surprised the most. Once he returned from the dungeon, Bell took a shower at the Hestia Familia home. Hestia offered to make dinner if he was tired, nevertheless he still volunteered to help. While they cooked, she asked if he had been approached by a silver haired Goddess, to which he told her that he hadn't. She seemed pleased with his answer but didn't know what to make of it. Bell told her about Welf, causing Hestia to be pleased not only because Welf was male but because it prevented Lili from being alone with Bell, which was something that she was wary of. She revealed that while Hephaestus praised Welf's skill, the rest of the Familia didn't think too highly of him, all because of the fact that he refused to create magic swords. Hestia moved the topic to Bell's skill, and after taking a look at his status, explained to him that it was the power of reversal, or rather the strike of a hero. She then smiled at him, leaving Bell thinking that it was the first time that he was conscious of her. On the 44th floor, Bete, Tione, and Tiona all fought against the same Flame Rock. Tiona told him that he was in the way but he ignored her, telling her that he wouldn't be hit by her slow weapon. A short distance away, Gareth approached Finn, wondering why they were all riled up while noting that Raul and the other adventurers weren't getting experience. Finn answered that they had encountered a Level 1 adventurer that had killed a Minotaur by himself on the 9th floor. Gareth was surprised, wishing that he could've been there to see it. Riveria joined them, informing Finn that she preferred her robe over the Undine Dress as it took some time to wear, though it was mainly because Loki had begged her to wear it even though it used thin fabric. She confirmed Finn's information, adding that Ais was also a witness. Finn and Riveria agreed that it made them remember that they were adventurers, their senses having become too used to fighting as a group, reminding them that if the need arose they need to fight by themselves. Their answer further made Gareth wish that he'd seen the battle. As they discussed Bell, Ais came over, asking Riveria of a way to surpass the limits of her abilities. Riveria told her that it was impossible due to individual limits. While they could master their abilities, she believed that there wasn't any way to surpass them. She was wary of Ais, making sure to remind her to not try anything rash. Satisfied with her answer for now, Ais drew her sword, then headed down to fight the monsters. The following day, Syr had Bell wait since she had failed to create lunch, though he offered to leave without it. Ryuu also greeted him, asking him to wait as Syr was trying her best. While they waited for her to finish, Bell reported to Ryuu about Welf, and in turn she told him about the history of Rakia and the Crozzo. A number of Elves hated the Crozzo for the destruction caused by their magic swords, however she didn't mind that much because it happened a long time ago and her forest hadn't been affected. Syr finished soon after and Bell left with her lunch. Making his way to Babel, Bell met Welf on the way there, and learned that Lili couldn't make it. Welf suggested that Bell come to his forge so that he could maintain his armor. Once they arrived at the forge, Welf asked Bell if he wanted anything, telling him to ask for whatever he wanted. He was surprised that Bell chose the large sword as he didn't ask for a magic sword. Welf offered to create something from the Minotaur's Horn that Bell's handed, with Bell choosing to have two knives created. After saving half for when he obtained the Blacksmith Development Ability, Welf began smithing the drop item into a weapon. Bell stood nearby through the entire process, asking questions from time to time. Eventually the topic moved to magic swords with Welf revealing that he hated them because they left the user behind. He then explained the Crozzo family history, telling Bell that the original Crozzo received the ability to create magic swords from the blood of a Spirit he saved. However, his descendants became greedy, using the ability to their advantage by giving magic swords to Rakia in exchange for rewards. The Spirits became just as angry as the Elves because of the destruction caused by the magic swords, cursing the Crozzo and their magic swords, making them shatter. No Crozzo were able to create a magic sword after that except for Welf which was the reason he left Rakia. Soon after Welf finished smithing half of the Minotaur's Horn into red knife similar to the Hestia Knife. When it came to decide on a name for it, Welf first suggested Ushiwakamaru before changing it to Minotan. Bell decided on Ushiwakamaru, leaving a disappointed Welf to agree to the name. As he handed Bell the knife, he had him promise not to talk in a stiff manner. Bell agreed to his request and received the knife. Epilogue A while later, Bell made his way to the Guild to meet with Eina. Eina expressed her surprise that a Crozzo was in Orario. Wanting to change the topic, Bell brought the topic back to what they were originally discussing. She was surprised when she took a look at his status as he had already reached Rank F in a status even though it had only been ten days since he had reached Level 2. He asked her for permission to start exploring the middle floors which she gave along with coupons for Salamander Wool. Eina agreed to let Bell explore them as long as he prepared Salamander Wool for all members of the party. She wished him luck as he left for the dungeon. Bell's party made their way through the 12th floor to the entrance of the 13th floor. Monsters attacked them on their way but were defeated by the party with Bell taking the opportunity to test Ushiwakamaru. Before heading to the 13th floor, Lili went over the party's formation, making sure that everyone knew what they had to do. Once they finished, the party headed down into the middle floors. QuestxQuest Main article: QuestxQuest The Goddess' Campanella Main article: The Goddess' Campanella Category:DanMachi Synopses